Method and apparatus for transporting and filling containers with cigarettes or the like



K. LIEDTKE 3,534,522 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING AND FILLING Oct. 20, 1970 CONTAINERS WITH CIGARETTES OR THE LIKE Original Filed June 5, 1964 4 3 Sheets-Sheet l v for:

"I, I Q95.

Oct. 20, 1910 K. LIEDTKE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING AND FILLING CONTAINERS WITH CIGARETTES OR THE LIKE Original Filed June 5, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jnve for.

K. LIEDTKE 3,534,522 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING AND FILLING Oct. 20, 1970 CONTAINERS WITH CIGARETTES OR THE LIKE Original Filed June 5. 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent Oifice 3,534,522 Patented Oct. 20, 1970 3,534,522 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING AND FILLING CONTAINERS WITH CIGARETTES OR THE LIKE Kurt Liedtke, Verden (Aller), Germany, assignor to Hauni Werke Korber & Co. K.G., Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany Application June 5, 1964, Ser. No. 373,025, new Patent No. 3,365,857, dated Jan. 30, 1968, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 287,348, June 12, 1963. Divided and this application Jan. 3, 1968, Ser. No. 695,504 Claims priority, application Great Britain, June 13, 1962, 22,681/ 62 Int. Cl. B65b 19/02 US. CI. 53-35 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Chargers or trays which carry cigarettes or like rod shaped articles from a producing machine to a consuming machine are transported toward, past and beyond a transfer station by a system of conveyors along paths which are located in a common vertical plane. Each tray is held in upright position and its movements toward and away from the transfer station take place along hori zontal paths which are parallel to the articles. Such articles are fed to the transfer station sideways and are transferred into successive trays in groups or layers while the respective trays descend stepwise. An endless conveyor supplies empty trays to and receives filled trays from the aforementioned system of conveyors.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 373,025 filed June 5, 1964, now Pat. No. 3,365,857 granted I an. 30, 1968, which application is a continuationin-part of application Ser. No. 287,348, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in a method and apparatus for transporting and filling containers for cigarettes or analogous rod shaped articles. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for loading cigarettes or like articles which issue from one or more producing machines into socalled chargers or trays and for transporting the trays toward, past and beyond a station where they receive rod shaped articles. The trays can be used to transport rod shaped articles into storage and/or to one or more consuming machines, for example, to a packing machine where the articles are introduced into and sealed in packs consisting of one or more layers of paper, cardboard, metallic foil and/or transparent synthetic plastic sheet material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of my invention to provide a novel and improved method of transporting and filling containers for cigarettes or analogous rod shaped articles in such a way that a large number of containers can be accommodated in a small area, that a container is always ready at the station where empty containers receive and are filled with rod shaped articles, and that the articles can be loaded into containers at the same rate at which they issue from one or more producing machines.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method according to which the containers can be transported and loaded or filled without tilting to insure that the array of articles in a loaded container is not destroyed during transport from the loading station to one or more consuming machines or to storage.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which can be utilized for carrying out the above outlined method and is capable of maintaining a requisite supply of empty and/or filled containers to compensate for eventual fluctuations in the operational speed or for temporary stoppage of producing and/or consuming machines.

An additional object of the invention is to provide the apparatus with a novel system of conveyors which can transport empty and filled containers along predetermined paths and past a transfer station or loading station where the containers are filled with rod shaped articles.

Still another object of the invention is to provide the apparatus with mechanisms which can transport containers between several conveyors without tilting and at the rate dictated by the speed of the machinery which turns out and transports rod shaped articles for introduction into such containers.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is particularly suited for transportation and filling of containers in the form of chargers or trays with cigarettes or filter cigarettes of unit length or multiple unit length.

An ancillary object of the invention is to provide an apparatus whose operation is fully automatic and which can be combined with high-speed cigarette machines or filter cigarette machines to accommodate and transport their output to one or more packing or other consuming machines.

The method of my invention comprises the steps of advancing a mass of rod shaped articles sideways along a first path and onto a transfer station, conveying a series of empty containers toward the transfer station along a second path which is parallel to the articles travelling along the first path, filling the containers with articles at the transfer station, conveying the thus filled containers along a third path which is parallel to articles travelling along the first path, and maintaining each container in an upright position along each of the second and third paths so that such containers remain in substantially vertical parallel planes. The second path is preferably located at a level above the third path and the containers are preferably lowered stepwise during filling at the transfer station so that they descend from the level of the second path to that of the third path.

In accordance with another feature of my method, a supply of empty containers is circulated along an endless path, empty containers are transferred from the endless path to the second path when the number of empty containers along the second path decreases to a predetermined minimum number, and filled trays are transferred from the third path to the endless path. The containers travelling along the endless path are preferably (but need not be) transported in suspended condition and in random distribution. 1

At least a portion of the endless path is preferably located at a level above the second and third paths so that the steps of transferring empty containers from the endless path then comprises lowering empty containers from the aforementioned portion of the endless path to the second path and the step of transferring filled containers to the endless path comprises lifting filled containers from the third path to such portion of the endless path.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved apparatus itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the fol- 3 lowing detailed description of certain specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of an apparatus which embodies one form of my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic side elevational view of a cigarette transporting conveyor in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a second apparatus; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a third apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a portion of an apparatus which is utilized for collecting elongated rod shaped articles to form rows or groups or layers each of which comprises the same number of equidistant articles, and for thereupon stacking such rows in successive containers here shown as chargers or trays which descend stepwise subsequent to receiving a fresh row of such articles. The articles C are assumed to be cigarettes or filter cigarettes which are advanced along a horizontal path (arrow 1a) by a specially constructed endless collecting conveyor 1 having transversely extending carriers or holders 11 each of which may but need not accommodate a cigarette C. It will be noted that the upper run or stringer of the conveyor 1 advances the cigarettes C sideways so that the axes of the cigarettes are normal to the direction of forward movement and that the cigarettes are parallel to each other.

It is customary to test cigarettes which are discharged from a rod cigarette machine or from a filter cigarette machine in order to determine whether each wrapper forms an airtight seal, whether the cigarettes are of uniform density and/or whether the weight of cigarettes is sufficiently close to a predetermined standard weight. Defective cigarettes are normally ejected in a full automatic way so that the single file or layer or mass of cigarettes advancing along the upper stringer of the conveyor 1 includes groups of equidistant cigarettes alternating with cigarettes which are more distant from the nearest cigarettes because a gap will be formed whenever one or more defective cigarettes are ejected subsequent to or during the testing step. A testing device T Which is used to determine the density of cigarettes and/or to detect the presence of leaks in their wrappers is indicated schematically at a point adjacent to the horizontal path of cigarettes which advance toward the upper stringer of the conveyor 1.

The apparatus of my invention will operate properly if the left-hand portion of the collection conveyor 1, as viewed in FIG. 1, carries a series of equidistant cigarettes before the cigarettes are collected to form rows which are thereupon transferred into an empty or partially filled tray 3 located at the transfer station 5. Therefore, the apparatus comprises an auxliary source of cigarettes here shown as a magazine 21 which cooperates with a grooved or fluted refilling conveyor or drum 2, and the latter serves to deposit a cigarette on the conveyor 1 whenever the testing device T has detected and initiated the ejection of a defective cigarette, i.e., whenever an empty carrier 11 advances beneath the drum 2. The manner in which a testing device cooperates with the drum 2 to automatically initiate the discharge of one or more cigarettes from the magazine 21 forms no part of this invention. In order to make absolutely sure that each carrier 11 which advances beyond the drum 2 will contain a satisfactory rod shaped article, the apparatus may comprise a special scanning device which detects the absence of articles at a point ahead of the drum 2 and sends an appropriate impulse to the auxiliary source to fill an empty carrier before the carrier reaches the transfer station 5. It suffices to say that the portion Of the upp r stringer of conveyor 1 advancing beyond the drum 2 comprises a series of carriers 11 each of which accommodates a satisfactory cigarette C.

The construction of the conveyor 1 is such that its component parts automatically condense the layer of cigarettes in a zone which is located downstream of the drum 2 (as viewed in the direction of the arrow 1a) so that the layer is transformed into one consisting of closely adjacent cigarettes. A predetermined number of cigarettes entering the transfer station 5 is thereupon transferred into the tray 3 by means of a mechanical transfer member or plunger P which is reciprocable in directions indicated by a double-headed arrow 53. This plunger may be replaced by a pneumatic transfer member which emits a series of jets of compressed air in order to move a row of cigarettes from the conveyor 1 into an empty tray 3. At the transfer station 5, the apparatus comprises two spaced columns or guides 51, 52 which support the tray 3 and carry a suitable conveyor mechanism capable of lowering the tray in stepwise fashion immediately after the tray receives a fresh row or layer of closely adjacent cigarettes C. Such stepwise movement of the tray 3 is initiated by an operative connection between the plunger P and the lowering conveyor mechanism so that the descent of the tray is fully automatic and need not be controlled by an operator. When the tray 3 has collected a requisite number of rows, i.e., when the tray is at least partially filled, the conveyor mechanism at the transfer station 5 deposits the tray onto a further conveyor here shown as a wheel-mounted carriage 4 which advances in stepwise fashion in synchronism with the operation of the remaining parts of the apparatus so that a filled tray 3 is moved in the axial direction of the cigarettes C through a distance which is sufiicient to provide room for an empty tray 3'. The paths along which the trays advance toward, past and beyond the transfer station 5 are indicated by arrows 3133, and it will be noted that an empty tray 3 moves toward the transfer station 5 along a horizontal path (arrow 31) extending in a direction parallel with the axes of cigarettes 3, that the tray thereupon moves along a vertical path (arrow 32) where the tray advances intermittently or stepwise because it receives successive rows of closely adjacent cigarettes while descending between the columns 51, 52, and that a filled tray 3" advances along a horizontal path (arrow 33) which is parallel with but located at a level below the first horizontal path (arrow 31). Empty trays 3 may be delivered by a suitable endless conveyor or the like (shown in FIG. 4) and the carriage 4 may be hitched to a second carriage 4' so that one carriage is always in a position to receive a filled tray. It is immaterial whether a leading carriage drags one or more trailing carriages or whether a trailing carriage pushes one or more leading carriages. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the carriage 4 is driven by a suitable hydraulic or pneumatic mechanism which receives impulses from the transfer mechanism and this carriage 4 pulls the second carriage 4' until the second carriage reaches a position in which it may receive a first filled tray. The second carriage 4 then begins to push the carriage 4 and simultaneously pulls a third carriage (not shown) so that the movement of carriage through the apparatus takes place in a fully automatic way. The carriage 4' supports a supply of empty trays. During travel along the paths indicated by arrows 31-33, the trays 3', 3, and 3 remain in parallel vertical planes.

FIG. 2 illustrates schematically the manner in which the collecting conveyor 1, and more particularly the upper run or stringer of this conveyor, condenses that portion of the layer of cigarettes which has advanced beyond the refilling drum 2 so as to form a group of closely adjacent parallel cigarettes and to enable the plunger P to intermittently remove successively assembled rows of cigarettes from this group at such intervals that each freshly transferred row may be deposited on the previously transferred row which is already accommodated in the tray 3. The carriers 11 are connected to each other by elastic elements 12 which may take the form of helical springs or rubber bands and normally tend to move the adjacent carriers into close proximity to each other so that the carriers will transform a layer of spaced cigarettes into a group of closely adjacent cigarettes ready for transfer into the tray 3. The width of the carriers 11 may approximate or is even less than the diameter of a cigarette to make sure that the rows which are being transferred into a tray contain closely adjacent cigarettes which may be in linear contact with each other.

The conveyor 1 comprises one, two or more link chains which are articulately connected with the carriers 11 and are trained around three pairs of sprocket wheels 13, 14 and 15. A row of cigarettes which is being transferred into a tray 3 in a single step may contain as many as 50, 60 or more cigarettes. The arrangement is such that the distance between the carriers 11 at the time they travel along the peripheries of the sprocket wheels 13 is the same as the distance between the cigarettes which are delivered from a feeding means, for example, a rod cigarette machine or a filter cigarette machine M shown schematically in the right-hand portion of FIG. 2. The exact construction of this feeding or producing machine M forms no part of the present invention; all that counts is that the machine M should feed to the conveyor 1 a continuous stream of cigarettes which may be deposited into consecutive carriers 11 (if the testing device T will fail to detect any defective articles) or which may be deposited into selective carriers 11 whenever the testing device has detected one or more defective articles which are then ejected prior or subsequent to transfer onto the upper stringer of the conveyor 1. The pitch of the sprocket wheels 13 (i.e., the distance between the teeth on these sprocket wheels) corresponds to the distance between the cigarettes which are being delivered by a cigarette machine or a filter cigarette machine and is such that the elastic elements 12 are caused to expand at the time they travel around the wheels 13. The elements 12 remain in expanded condition while they travel toward the intermediate sprocket wheels 14 (arrow la). The pitch of the sprocket wheels 14 is different from the pitch of sprocket wheels 15 so that the carriers 11 are permitted to move closer to each other while they advance from the apices of wheels 14 toward and around the wheels 15. Consequently, all such carriers 11 which are located between the the wheels 14, 15 and which are supported by the upper stringer of the conveyor 1 will be closely adjacent to each other to insure that the layer of cigarettes C is condensed and that the plunger P may remove a row containing a predetermined number of cigarettes in order to advance such row in a direction which is normal to the plane of FIG. 2 and to transfer the row into the interior of that tray 3 which is located between the columns 51, 52 at the transfer station of FIG. 1. The sprocket wheels 14, are driven intermittently and, when they are caused to rotate, their speed is higher than the speed of wheels 13 and is selected in such a way that the layer of cigarettes C is condensed or remains condensed while moving toward the apices of wheels 15. The arrangement is such that no cigarettes will be permitted to advance beyond the apices of wheels 15 so that no cigarette is lost and that all cigarettes are transferred into the tray 3.

It goes without saying that the operation of the collecting conveyor 1 may be reversed so that a layer of closely adjacent rod shaped articles may be transformed into a layer wherein the articles are more distant from each other. This can be achieved by feeding rod shaped articles to the left-hand end of the conveyor, as viewed in FIG. 2, and by driving the sprocket wheels 13-1-5 in a clockwise direction. For example, and if rows of cigarettes are being transferred from a tray 3, such rows may be transformed into a continuous layer of cigarettes wherein the distance between adjacent cigarettes exceeds the distance between the cigarettes in rows which are being withdrawn from a filled or partially filled tray.

The sprocket wheels 13 are rotated continuously by a drive which forms no part of this invention. When the conveyor 1 is about to form a condensed group of cigarettes, the sprocket wheels 15 are brought to a halt in a first step so that the sprocket wheels 14 continue to deliver cigarettes in a direction to the left, as viewed in FIG. 2, and that the leftmost portion of the upper stringer of the conveyor 1 collects a series of carriers 11 in close proximity to each other. When the condensed group contains a requisite number of cigarettes, the plunger P transfers a row of cigarettes into the tray 3. At the same time, the sprocket wheels 13 continue to advance cigarettes toward the sprocket wheels 14 so that the layer of cigarettes is partially condensed ahead of the sprocket wheels 14 and is advanced toward the sprocket wheels 15 as soon as the sprocket wheels 15 begin to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2.

It is possible to operate the conveyor 1 in such a way that the sprocket wheels 14, 15 rotate at different speeds so that the upper stringer of the conveyor always contains a group of closely adjacent carriers 11. When the space between the sprocket wheels 14, 15, receives a requisite number of cigarettes, at least the sprocket wheels 15 are arrested to remain idle during the transfer of a fresh row into the tray 3. As soon as the transfer of a fresh row is completed, the sprocket wheels 15 begin again to rotate at a speed which exceeds the speed of sprocket wheels 13.

FIG. 3 illustrates a somewhat modified apparatus with a different wheel-mounted carriage 240 which serves as a conveyor means to deliver empty trays 230' to a transfer station 250 and as a conveyor means to collect filled trays 230" subsequent to advance of a filled tray through and past the transfer station. The trays 230' are suspended on pairwise arranged overhead conveyor beams 241 by means of hooks or hangers 242. The side walls of the trays are provided with projections 234 which engage with a conveyor mechanism carried by a pair of columns 251, 252, and this conveyor mechanism thereupon lowers successive empty trays 230' along one side of the collecting conveyor 1, i.e., between the sprocket wheels, 14, 15 of which only the wheels 15 are shown in FIG. 3. The bottom wall 244 of the carriage 240 is provided with transversely extending grooves 243 each of which may receive a filled tray 230". The plunger of the transfer mechanism is concealed by a hood 250a and the auxiliary source 221 of FIG. 3 comprises a platform 221a which may accommodate two or more trays 221k one of which delivers satisfactory cigarettes into the flutes of the refilling drum 2. The construction of the collecting conveyor 1 is the same as described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2. The common shaft of the sprocket wheels 13 is shown at 13a.

The tray 230 which is located at the transfer station 250 sends an impulse to a mechanism 240a which advances the carriage 240 as soon as this tray enters the groove 243 therebelow whereby the carriage automatically advances the foremost empty tray 230' into the space between the columns 251, 252 so that the empty tray assumes a position in which its bottom wall may receive a first row of cigarettes. It goes without saying that the carriage 240 may support larger numbers of trays and that this carriage may constitute one element of a train of carriages adapted to travel in a direction which is parallel with the axes of the cigarettes C, see the arrow 24Gb.

FIG. 4 illustrates a third apparatus which comprises an endless overhead conveyor 360 (shown by phantom lines) for hangers or holders 361 which sever to deliver empty trays 330' toward a transfer station 350. One or more empty trays 3301), 330s are held in reserve behind the transfer station 350 while a tray 330 descends between the columns 351, 352 to receive a requisite number of condensed cigarette rows. The means for disconnecting empty trays 330' from the respective hangers 361 comprises two so-called pickup columns 342, 343 which form part of a stationary carriage 3.40. The columns 342, 343 are provided with pivotable lowering mechanisms 344, 345 which engage the foremost empty tray 330' while the respective hanger 361 continues to advance (arrow 34%) so that the foremost empty tray is disengaged from its hanger (see the phantom-line position 330a) and is ready to be lowered onto an intermittently moving upper conveyor platform 346 where it assumes a position corresponding to the position of the tray 33%. The carriage 340 comprises an advancing mechanism arranged to move the tray 33% and the tray 330s which is located ahead of the tray 33%, by advancing the platform 346 a step in a direction toward the transfer station 350 as soon as the tray 330 has descended close to or into its lower end position. This tray 330 is then advanced with a lower conveyor platform 347 to move the foremost filled tray 330a" between a pair of litter columns 348, 349 which are equipped with a suitable lifting mechanism (not shown) capable of raising the filled tray into the path of an empty hanger 361 so that the hanger engages the filled tray (see the filled tray 33%") and advances it toward a wrapping or packing machine, not shown. A second filled tray 330a is located on the lower platform 347 directly behind the tray 3300'. The conveyor platforms 346, 347 and the columns 342, 343, 348, 349 together form the carriage 340. The platform 346 performs the same function as the overhead conveyor beams 241 in the apparatus of FIG. 3.

The construction of the collecting conveyor 1 is the same as described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2. The auxiliary source of cigarettes C is not shown in FIG. 4. The reference numeral a indicates the common shaft of the sprocket wheels 15.

If the endless overhead conveyor 360 serves to deliver filled trays from an apparatus which is located upstream of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4, such filled trays merely pass between the pivotable mechanisms 344, 345 and do not descend along the columns 342, 343.

While travelling toward, past and beyond the transfer station 350 of FIG. 4, the trays advance along paths which are similar to the paths indicated in FIG. 1 by arrows 31-33. The conveyor 360 carries a supply of empty and filled trays in random distribution.

The trays which are used in the apparatus of FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 are capable of supporting the underside and at least two vertical sides of a stock of rod shaped articles. In the illustrated embodiments, each tray has a rear wall so that the stacks of rod shaped articles which are accommodated in such trays are supported at four sides, namely, along the underside, along the rear side, and along two lateral sides. The front side of a tray which descends stepwise along the transfer station remains open, at least during transfer of successive rows of articles, but each filled tray may be closed manually or automatically by providing suitable front covers which are lifted while the trays descend along the transfer station and which may close as soon as a tray is filled.

By moving the trays along paths which are in part parallel and in part normal to the axes of rod shaped articles (arrows 31-33 in FIG. 1), the length of such paths is reduced to a minimum and the trays may be advanced by a very simple conveyor system to reduce the cost and dimensions of the apparatus.

Due to the provision of one or more spare empty trays in a Zone behind the transfer station (see the trays 3' in FIG. 1, the trays 230 in FIG. 3 and the trays 330b, 3300' in FIG. 4), the feed of such empty trays to the transfer station is independent of the delivery of empty trays to the respective carriage. In other words, it is an additional feature of the present invention that a supply of empty trays is held ready in a zone which is located immediately behind the transfer station so that the apparatus may draw empty trays from such supply rather than from the endless conveyor which delivers empty trays to the apparatus. It will be readily understood that the provision of such supply of empty trays is of considerable advantage if one considers that a modem cigarette machine or filter cigarette machine operates at a very high speed so that the delivery of empty trays to the transfer station must take place at frequent intervals if the apparatus is to operate without interruptions and in synchronism with the operation of such machines. It is immaterial whether the supply of empty trays contains one or more trays which rest on a platform or are suspended on the hangers of an endless overhead conveyor, as long as such trays are ready for immediate delivery to the transfer station with little loss in time. If the empty trays are delivered by an overhead conveyor, they may descend by gravity as soon as they are disconnected from the hangers, especially if the pathway along which they must descend by gravity is rather short. The same applies for filled trays, i.e., each filled tray may descend by gravity and is thereupon advanced in the axial direction of articles.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, it is not necessary to remove each filled tray as soon as it leaves the transfer station. This is of advantage because the carriage may collect a series of filled trays prior to delivering them to an overhead conveyor or to the next processing station. In other words, and assuming that there is a worker who removes filled trays from the apparatus of my invention, such worker need not be on constant alert in order to make sure that each filled tray is removed as soon as it leaves the transfer station because the carriage (irrespective of whether the carriage is stationary or movable) will collect a series of filled trays but will still permit entry of empty trays into the transfer station.

In the illustrated apparatus, the supply of empty trays is located at a level above the series of filled trays. This is of advantage because the trays must descend only once, namely, while they move stepwise to receive rows of rod shaped articles; otherwise, the trays may travel along paths whose direction is parallel with the axes of rod shaped articles excepting, of course, if the apparatus comprises an overhead conveyor of the type shown in FIG. 4 a portion of which is arranged to receive filled trays and to advance them to the next processing station while the filled trays travel at the general level of empty trays which advance toward the apparatus, i.e., toward the columns 342, 343 of FIG. 4 for example, the overhead conveyor 360 of FIG. 4 may deliver filled trays to one or more packing of wrapping machines (not shown) and thereupon receives empty trays from the same packing machine or machines so that the trays travel along a closed path including the paths extending between the columns 342, 343, along the upper platform 346, along the transfer station 350, along the lower platform 347, and along the columns 348, 349.

As explained hereinabove, the overhead conveyor 360 is preferably constructed in such a way that filled trays which might advance toward the columns 342, 343 will pass the mechanisms 344, 345 without descending onto the platform 346 and that only an empty tray will be disconnected from the respective hanger 361. Heretofore, it was customary to detach empty trays by hand and to deliver such empty trays to the transfer station. To my knowledge, this is the first apparatus which cooperates with a fully automatic overhead conveyor.

The provision of a special scanning device which determines the absence of cigarettes at a point ahead of the auxiliary source of cigarettes is advisable in the event that the apparatus is not equipped with an automatic testing device, i.e., when the defective cigarettes are removed by hand.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features which fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of my contribution to the art and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. A method of transporting and filling containers for cigarettes or analogous rod-shaped articles, comprising the steps of advancing the articles sideways along a first path on to a transfer station located at a first level; conveying empty containers along an endless second path arranged at a second level located above said first level; removing empty containers from said second path in the region of said transfer station; mechanically lowering the thus removed containers to said first level and into said transfer station; filling the containers with articles at said transfer station at said first level; mechanically raising the thus filled containers to said second level; realigning the thus filled containers at said second level with said second path and conveying the thus filled containers along said second path on said second level above said first level.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said step of filling the containers comprises lowering the containers stepwise from said first level to a third level and wherein said step of raising filled containers comprises moving such containers from said third level to said second level.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said conveying steps comprise advancing empty and filled containers in suspended positions.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein a portion of said endless path is substantially normal to and crosses in space said first path.

5. Apparatus for transporting and filling containers for cigarettes or analogous rod-shaped articles, comprising first conveyor means for transporting rod-shaped articles along a first path to a transfer station located at a first level; second conveyor means; means for mounting said second conveyor means for movement along an endless second path located at a second level, said second conveyor means comprising mobile supporting means adapted to transport empty and filled containers; means for removing empty containers from said second conveyor means in the region of said transfer station; means for lowering said thus removed empty containers from said second conveyor means to said first level for filling at said transfer station and for raising filled containers from said transfer station to said second level; means for moving said filled containers at said second level to said second conveyor means for transporting along said endless path; and transfer means for transferring articles from said first conveyor means into containers at said transfer station.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said supporting means are hangers arranged to support containers in suspended positions.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said lowering and raising means comprises a first substantially horizontal conveyor arranged to feed empty containers to said transfer station and a second substantially horizontal conveyor arranged to move filled containers away from said station.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein said lowering and raising means further comprises a device for moving containers at said station stepwise from said first to said second horizontal conveyor.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said second horizontal conveyor is located below said first level so that said device moves the containers downwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,190,459 6/1965 Kochalski et a1. 53236 X 3,241,286 3/1966 Dearsley 5335 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,282,841 12/ 1961 France.

TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner R. L. SPRUILL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 53-236 

